Archive for May 22nd, 2010

Why MACC dare not announce it will probe Najib if corruption is suspected in the Prime Minister’s infamous RM5million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election polling?

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) does not want to be left out in the nation-wide furore over the latest financial scandal in the country – the RM964 million Sime Darby losses from cost overruns from four projects in its Energy and Utilities Unit, in particular the Bakun Dam project.

Thursday’s New Straits Times carried this headline: “MACC; Sime probe if graft suspected”.

My instant thought is when there is going to be a newspaper headline: “MACC: PM probe if graft suspected”.

Not that there is not enough cause. The recent Sibu by-election provides the MACC ample evidence for investigation against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, whether he had been guilty of corrupt practices particularly in the infamous RM5 million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election – which is on YouTube for all to see.

Has the MACC the guts, commitment and professionalism to investigate the Prime Minister for corruption?

I am not even talking about arresting and charging the Prime Minister for corruption – just to open a probe on the Prime Minister.
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Najib should not dodge questions but should answer frankly whether the Bakun Dam project has cost overruns of RM1.7 billion and that the government will be asking Parliament for a RM700 million bailout package for Sime Darby

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has dodged questions about the Sime Darby costs overruns scandal since the GLC-conglomerate’s May 13 admission of RM964 million losses for the second half of FY2010, comprising:

1. Qatar Petroleum (QP) RM200 million
2. Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ) RM159 million
3. MOQ marine project RM155 million
4. Bakun Dam RM450 million
Total RM964 million

These are however only a part of the losses suffered by Sime Darby from these projects, for instance:

  • the RM974 million QP project which was awarded in April 2006 and scheduled for completion in August 2008 incurs losses exceeding RM500 million;

  • the RM2.2 billion MOQ Project, awarded in January 2007 and due for completion in October 2009 incurs RM526 million losses.

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Sarawak By-Election: Old Habits Die Hard

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

Sibu, that remarkable town on the mighty Rejang that the Foochows built all those long years ago with sweat, blood and tears, notched another milestone: the Chinese community decided that May 16 was to be the day when they would show the rest of Malaysia, and indeed the world, that Najib’s largesse however packaged had all the smell of moral decay, or not to put too fine a point on it, undisguised vote buying. This illegal and immoral practice is apparently endorsed and encouraged by both the Election Commission and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Sibuans on the other hand would have none of it.

What was so distressing was that the EC and MACC were ever so quick to affix their “No Action” tab on what clearly was corruption committed by Najib who offered financial inducements to the voters of Sibu to return the Barisan Nasional candidate. Similarly they took no action against Najib for his shenanigans in the Hulu Selangor by-election. Most surprising of all, there was not even a whimper from the self-proclaimed anti-corruption fighter, Transparency International Malaysia. Have they decided to flow with the tide of political corruption as well? Najib’s practice of bribing voters into supporting his election agenda shows a complete and utter disdain for public opinion and the law.

What is the point of spending hundreds of millions on beefing the MACC up, already bloating and bursting at the seams with gross inefficiency, when the prime minister bribes the voters of Sibu, with complete arrogance and impunity? To our complete surprise, the good citizens of Sibu, unlike some of their fellow citizens elsewhere, turned up their collective nose and gave Najib the elbow, more or less telling him to “take a running jump into the Rejang.”
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Never before in Sibu

By Wee Wui Kiat

[UPDATED with photos from the ground] A musing on the many firsts for Sibu that took place in the few weeks leading up to last Sunday’s by-election, that reflects a changed Malaysia.

PR Leaders Sibu nomination

Sibu Miracle – May 16,2010

Never before in Sibu have we seen such a strong line of a multi-ethnic opposition coalition working together hand in hand way into the wee hours of the night to bring about change.

Never before in Sibu have we seen so many Malays proudly wearing DAP caps and shirts on the streets.

Never before in Sibu have we seen a Malay woman donning the tudung, hoisting a huge DAP flag.
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